When agency owners first approach Springtree Group about the process of selling their business, they are often concerned about what will happen to their customers and their own personnel once the sale is completed. An agency is only as successful as its network of customers and the hard-working team representing the business day-to-day.
Today, we’re discussing strategies for prioritizing your team through an upcoming transition event. When the dust settles at the end of the acquisition, you want your former agency to thrive—and so do we.
Preparation, not Preoccupation
Preparing your agency to go up for sale is a long, complicated process. Still, this isn’t the time to drop the ball on taking care of your staff. We do recommend discretion, so we suggest not speaking to your staff about your long-term plans. The right time to discuss the transition will present itself, and Springtree Group will help you facilitate sharing the news.
In the meantime, set aside time to speak with your team collectively and individually, continue your usual level of participation in day-to-day tasks as much as possible, and stay in tune with the overall mood within the office.
Springtree Group Has Your Back
When you work with Springtree Group, you’ll have our assistance finding the buyer that’s right for you. If you know that one of your conditions is retaining as many of your staff members as possible, then we will vet buyers with that goal in mind.
The following characteristics are commonly held by buyers who tend to be excellent with their employees:
- They are focused on long-term success, not short-term financial boosts.
- They ask about your current team and want to understand the people themselves as well as the structure of your staff.
- They are invested in making your customers comfortable with the acquisition and understand that your staff are the key to doing so as seamlessly as possible.
- They place the proper value on all personnel because they know that insurance is all about the trust between your clients and your representatives.
- They understand how much more difficult it is to hire excellent staff than take good care of the team you’ve built.
- They want to make your team happy that the acquisition happened, so they will work in partnership with you to ensure that you’re both on the same page regarding what will happen both before and after the event.
Springtree Group remains invested in arranging mergers and acquisitions that will help robust, successful agencies thrive for many years to come. If you have built a business of which you are proud and have reservations about selling to a random buyer, don’t! Call Springtree Group today and allow us to assist you in finding the buyer that is best for your bank account, your book of business, and of course, your employees.
